Brian Eno, FKA Twigs, Jim Jarmusch among Artists commissioned for Vatican Pavilion at Venice Biennale
The pavilion of the Vatican will present 24 artists and musicians in a sound-based exhibition titled“The Ear Is the Eye of the Soul,” a project shaped by the legacy of Saint Hildegard of Bingen and organized around the act of listening.
Curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers in collaboration with Soundwalk Collective, the pavilion will unfold across two Venice venues: the Mystical Garden of the Discalced Carmelites in Cannaregio and the Complesso di Santa Maria Ausiliatrice in Castello. According to the press release, the project was conceived in response to Koyo Kouoh's curatorial proposition for Biennale Arte 2026, which called for a slower, more attentive register.
The roster includes commissioned works by Brian Eno, FKA Twigs, Jim Jarmusch, Patti Smith, Devonté Hynes, Laraaji, Kali Malone, Caterina Barbieri, Terry Riley, Bhanu Kapil, Carminho, Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst, Kazu Makino, Meredith Monk, Moor Mother, Otobong Nkanga, Precious Okoyomon, Raúl Zurita, Suzanne Ciani, and the Benedictine Nuns of the Abbey of St. Hildegard Eibingen, among others. The presentation is described as a“sonic prayer,” with pieces responding to Hildegard's chants, writings, and visionary images through voice, instrumentation, and, at times, silence.
In the Mystical Garden, visitors will move through the works on headphones, turning the pavilion into something closer to a contemplative walk than a conventional exhibition. At the Complesso di Santa Maria Ausiliatrice, the final work by German filmmaker and writer Alexander Kluge, who died last month at 94, will be shown alongside an archive of Hildegardian texts, artist books by Ilda David', and new monastery architecture by Tatiana Bilbao Estudio.
The press release also quotes Pope Leo XIV on the limits of algorithmic thinking:“The logic of algorithms tends to repeat what 'works,' but art opens up what is possible. Not everything has to be immediate or predictable.” That sentiment gives the pavilion its conceptual frame. Rather than treating sound as an accessory, the Vatican is using it to build a space for duration, reflection, and spiritual attention.